Review of Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) by Dave J — 09 May 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013.
(1938) Angels With Dirty Faces.
CRIME.
A very generic simplistic storyline if a movie like this were made today centering on well intentioned gangster played by James Cagney idolized by "the Dead End Kids" getting mixed up with bad gangster Humphrey Bogart. Ed O' Brien plays a pastor which the Cagney character saves.
(contains spoilers).
I may have liked this film at the time it was made but not so much anymore since I didn't like the fact that the Cagney character first 'saves' his brother the pastor's life than gets punished for that by means of being sentenced to death, and then his pastor brother has the gall to ask him for a favor of showing fear by means of tears and so forth before he gets put into the chair... that scene has got to be one of the "cheesiest" scenes in movie history. And I also don't like the fact that the film sympathizes with the Cagney character and then kills him off just because he's a well an intentioned gangster who just happens to associate with some bad apples- that doesn't make any sense especially when they're worst gangsters than him such as Capone and so forth and they get life in prison.
2 out of 4 stars.
This review of Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) was written by Dave J on 09 May 2013.
Angels with Dirty Faces has generally received very positive reviews.
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